Courtesy photo Michael Turiano and Heather Partner were the big winners Thursday night.

Michael Turiano and Heather Partner were the men’s and women’s champions in the 2026 Altoona Mirror Bowler of the Year Tournament Thursday night at the Holiday Bowl Lanes.

It wasn’t the proverbial first rodeo in the event for either bowler.

Partner won her fourth career women’s Bowler of the Year title, and Turiano defended the men’s Bowler of the Year championship that he won for the first time a year ago.

Turiano won his second straight men’s championship on the strength of a pair of perfect 300 scores, in his first and fourth games, en route to an overall score of 1075. Men’s runner-up Tom Falbo was second, with a four-game score of 1020 that included a 300 in the fourth game, and Justin Horton finished third with a score of 1000.

Partner, who last won her last women’s Bowler of the Year title in 2019, logged a score of 858. Julie Katra’s score of 810 placed her second, and last year’s women’s BOY champion, Bree Moore, finished third this year with a 799.

Turiano, 24, of Altoona, started and finished his night perfectly by leaving no pins standing. He estimates that the two perfect 300 games that he rolled Thursday gave him 27 for his career.

Turiano felt some pressure to repeat as champion this year.

“It feels really good,” Turiano said. “I definitely heard from some of my peers that people were hunting me down this year, and it felt good to start the night with that first 300 and to finish the night with another 300.”

Turiano bowls in three different leagues at Holiday Bowl, where he is also an employee. Falbo is the general manager at Holiday Bowl, and Turiano said that seeing Falbo match his perfect 300 in the fourth game made the night even more special.

“Tom Falbo is the general manager here at Holiday Bowl, and he has been watching me bowl since I was eight years old,” Turiano said. “I felt really good about seeing him bowl a 300 in that fourth game as well.

“There were scores close to me going into that last game, and I knew that I needed a big game,” Turiano added. “I stayed composed, got through the first seven or eight frames, and finished it out.”

John Slowik, who finished fifth in the men’s standings with a score of 950, also rolled a 300 in his fourth game Thursday.

Partner, who lives in Bellwood and bowls in two leagues at Holiday Bowl, has been participating in the sport for 40 years.

“It feels awesome to win this, and I’m using it as practice for the upcoming state women’s tournament in Williamsport at the end of this month,” Partner said.

Partner experienced her share of highs and lows en route to winning her championship, rolling her best game of 246 in her second game, before slipping to a score of 189 in her third game, but finishing strong with a new ball and a score of 200 in her fourth game.

“I felt pretty relaxed in the second game,” Partner said. “The third game was my low score, but the ball that I was using in that game wasn’t hitting, and I changed balls and went to a stronger ball in the fourth game.

“Maybe I should have done that in the third game,” Partner added.

MEN

(TOP 10 FINISHERS)

1, Michael Turiano, 300-258-217-300-1075. 2, Tom Falbo, 214-279-227-300-1020. 3, Justin Horton 268-222-278-232-1000. 4, Dan Tremmel, 206-257-279-247-989. 5, John Slowik, 249-208-193-300-950. 6, Marshall Dick, 276-235-200-226-937. 7, Chris Horton, 233-217-268-206-924. 8, Jason Warner, 207-216-245-245-913. 9, Nate Barroner, 234-274-196-203-907. 10, Andrew Greiner, 180-218-240-265-903.

WOMEN

(TOP 10 FINISHERS)

1, Heather Partner, 223-246-189-200-858. 2, Julie Katra, 214-203-191-202-810. 3, Bree Moore, 224-179-204-192-799. 4, Jennifer Meister, 189-195-194-217-795. 5, Leah Wilt (Smith), 177-148-225-214-764. 6, Nikki Watt, 201-170-208-161-740. 7, Christine Cleaver, 183-190-173-185-731. 8, Anna Swartz, 211-160-180-154-705. 9, Cathy Knisely, 169-170-230-135-704. 10, Beth Monahan, 157-176-162-169-664.